My husband, David and I are escaping into some Senior Gap Years. What is that? It is a year or more cushioned between working and retiring. It is just like the Gap year that kids take between high school and college, except that we are much smarter now! Our philosophy is that we need to travel now while we are in such good shape and can hike, climb up steep stairs, and explore new places.
We will be experiencing some time vagabonding in Europe. We are not rich, so this will be a budget adventure. This blog will document our wanderings with photos (I am the photographer) and commentary about our life on the road. We are hoping to eventually write an e-book talking about the nuts and bolts of how to do this for future adventurers.
The last two summers we spent three months pet and house-sitting in England , Ireland and Scotland. I miss my dog so much while we are traveling , he stays at home with our son. So it was so much fun to get to take care of some wonderful animals ( mainly dogs and cats), meet some interesting people and explore some places that we had not been to before.
We are doing it again this summer. We will be taking care of pets and homes in England for four months. Then we will spend a month touring on the European continent before taking a trans Atlantic cruise home. The site we used to arrange our pet and house sitting assignments is Trustedhousesitter.com. Here is a blog link that explains how we set up the housesitting assignments. https://seniorgapyear.wordpress.com/2016/02/07/house-and-pet-sitting-on-the-road/ If you have any questions, just leave us a comment and I will get back to you.
You are welcome to follow our adventures and learn more about saving money by pet and house sitting. Just click the follow link at the top of the blog page and leave your email address and you will get an email when I post a new blog entry. Your comments and questions are welcome.
We are getting to be experts at taking care of sweet animals and wonderful homes. Welcome to join our continuing adventures.
Senior Gap Year 
Can’t wait to follow along your adventure Linda ! Your photography is always amazing ! Happy Retirement enjoy your “Vagabonding ”
Hugs Lorie ( Old Misery )
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Lorie We will be putting up some practical advice about traveling in Europe for retiring people. Right now we are getting the planning down
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just found your blog and I am excited! I am hoping to follow you in detail as this is something I would like to do when I retire (I also am not rich and am raising my son on my own, but at 55, I still have quite a few “working” years left). I have already read about Lucca and some of your other Italian excursions. I can’t wait to learn more about your travels and LOVE the pictures! Enjoy every moment and I’ll keep checking my email for new faces & places!
LikeLike
Thanks for following us. I am afraid we are tackling the hardest part of the senior gap year : selling the house. I do not know how people manage to clean out their homes of 25 years but I guess I will find out. We hope to get back on the road in a couple of months.
LikeLike
I absolutely love your blog! Such a wonderful idea.. May the journey for you always continue! 🙂
LikeLike
Sorry for not replying earlier, somehow your comment slipped through the cracks. Thanks for following us. The adventure continues , now adding the new dimension of pet and house sitting into the mix.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We can relate to your situation, wanting to down-size and vagabond around the world. Best wishes and happy travels during this exciting time of life.
LikeLike
Thanks Joe for your comments. Now that we are back in the house, we are still downsizing the stuff from the storage unit that we could not part from. The work goes on….
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was lovely meeting you both in the eleventh century at Battle, UK. I’m the lady stood in the Saxon tent with the “tapestry” story draped across the back. Hope youve both had an interesting and rewarding day out.
Liz and Huw Gulliver, Caerphilly, South Wales.
LikeLike
Liz It was wonderful to meet you yesterday. I put up the blog post today and your lovely photograph is in it. Take care and I hope you follow along on our adventures. Linda
LikeLike
Thank you so much for sharing!! What a cool adventure!
LikeLike
thank you Gail for following along
LikeLike
Thank you Gail for following along
LikeLike
Hi Linda, Thanks for visiting The Shakespeare Hospice Bookshop in Stratford upon Avon again this summer. It’s lovely to have returning customers and wonderful that vintage books can be upcycled into art! Thank you for mentioning the Bookshop and featuring a snapshot of our volunteers. We hope to see you again sooner rather than later. Best wishes from everyone at The Shakespeare Hospice Bookshop!
LikeLike
thank you Susan and all of your volunteers, you do great work
LikeLike
Dear Linda,
I love your site. Thank you so much!
I’m writing to ask your permission to use the photograph of the children’s memorial at the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. It’s the best photo I’ve found. I’m working on a book about the Holocaust – and there’s a section featuring memorials from around the world.
I hope that you and your husband are well during these trying days – and that happiness continues to bless your lives.
I am grateful for your consideration of my plea.
Thanks,
Dan Paulos
LikeLike